Reuters: Western powers warned Syria against appointing foreigners to the army

Two sources familiar with the matter said that US, French, and German envoys warned the new Syrian administration that their appointment of what they described as “foreign jihadists” to senior military positions was a security concern and harmed their image in their attempt to establish relations with foreign countries.
Reuters quoted a US official as saying that the warning issued by the United States, which comes as part of Western efforts to push the new Syrian leaders to reconsider this move, came during a meeting between US envoy Daniel Rubinstein and the leader of the new Syrian administration, Ahmad al-Sharaa, on Wednesday at the presidential palace in Damascus.
The official said that “these appointments will not help them maintain their reputation in the United States.”
An official familiar with the talks said that the foreign ministers of France and Germany, Jean-Noël Barrot and Annalena Baerbock, also raised the issue of foreign fighters recruited into the army during their meeting with al-Sharaa on January 3.
A US State Department spokesman said that Washington is in ongoing dialogue with the interim authorities in Damascus.
“The discussions were constructive, covering a wide range of domestic and international issues,” the spokesman added, explaining that there was “tangible progress on counterterrorism priorities, including ISIS.”
“THEY MADE SACRIFICES.”
The US official and a Western source said the Damascus government had explained the designations of the foreign fighters by saying they could not simply be returned to their home countries or sent abroad to face persecution, and that it was better to keep them in Syria.
The US official added that the authorities also made clear that these people had helped rid Syria of the regime of ousted President Bashar al-Assad and that some had been in the country for more than 10 years and thus had become part of society.
Syrian administration officials said the foreign fighters had made sacrifices to help topple Assad and that they would have a place in Syria, adding that they could be granted citizenship.
Late last year, Reuters reported that the new Syrian administration had made about 50 appointments, including at least six foreign fighters, including Chinese, Uighurs from Central Asia, a Turk, an Egyptian, and a Jordanian.
A Syrian military source said three of them had been promoted to brigadier generals and at least three others to colonels.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham led the offensive that toppled Assad on December 8. It has since installed a government in the country and dissolved Assad’s army. HTS is making efforts to reshape the armed forces.